Chasing the dream...at a comfortable pace.

Ten Reasons Why Coming Home From Vacation Is The Best

January 31, 2014

In case you didn’t know, I’ve been writing these last couple of posts from Puerto Rico, where I’ve had one of the most awesome trips ever with my family and two of my best friends. However, with the sadness setting in over the thought of returning to the frigid stylings of New York City in less than twenty-four hours, I felt like I needed a little pick me up to remind myself that coming home from vacation isn’t always so bad. In fact, it can be the best! Here’s what I had to say about it last year after returning from a fantastic New Year’s Eve trip to Berlin:

Going on vacation can be lots of fun, but there usually comes a point where you’re over everything and everyone around you and you just want to go home. Here are ten reasons why you don’t have to mourn the end of your holiday:

#1. You Can Relax

Does this look like fun?!

Sure that’s what you were supposed to be doing while you were on vacation, but instead, you filled every day, for a week straight, with one activity that was more insane than the last. Instead of lying on your couch, watching TV like a normal person does when they’re trying to unwind, you were taking four hour walking tours of foreign cities, swimming with dolphins, or zip-lining for Christ’s sake. You’re home now, you can take it down a notch.

#2 You Can Stop Drinking For Ten Minutes

One of the best things about getting out of town, is that you have carte blanche to guzzle as much booze as your liver will allow, however after the fourth or fifth day straight, drinking becomes a chore. It’s no longer something you want to do, but something you have to do, because really, what else are you going to do? Trek up that volcano without a beer in your hand? That’s ridiculous, but at home, it’s perfectly OK to go to the grocery store sober, the gym sober, or even to work sober.

#3 Your Friends Are All Interested In You

Or at least they have to pretend to be. You’ve been off doing exciting things and now it’s their turn to pony up and ask you questions about it, cause God knows, that’s what you did when they came back from that wedding in Malta three months ago. This is your time to shine. All of your vacation photos on Facebook are blowing up and you can feel superior to everyone you know for having traveled somewhere, even though they were at home, having a better time than you.

#4 DVR

For a week now, you’ve been galavanting about the globe, collecting tchotchkes from different countries. That’s fantastic. You want to know what your DVR has been doing? Busting its ass! All so that when you get home, you’ll have access to hours worth of your favorite mind-numbing shows to watch before you actually have to engage in the real world once again. In fact, this is probably the best part of your entire trip. Had I known that there would be an episode of The View where Vanilla Ice was performing, waiting for me when I returned from my most recent excursion abroad, I would have come home three days early.

#5 You Know What You’re Eating Again

Food is always an adventure on vacation. Half the time you have no idea what you’re eating at all, which is exciting at first, but towards the end of your time away, all you want is something familiar so you can stop trying to make a sandwich out of whatever the hell this stuff is. When you’re back in your apartment, just open up the menu drawer, hit up Grubhub, or check out your local grocery for the kind of comforting crap that really makes you feel like you’re back in America.

#6 You Can Leave Your Towels Wherever The Hell You Want And Not Have To Feel Like A Jerk For Destroying The Environment

#7 English

You speak it. I speak it. We have an understanding. Literally. Because of English, I never have to feel like an idiot after realizing I just spent a week straight asking “What” is the bathroom, instead of “Where” is the bathroom to about a dozen different people. This is because I’ve been speaking English, and I’m fairly confident about the words that are coming out of my mouth.

#8 Snapple

Are Snapples some kind of top secret, CIA protected, American treasure, that only Jason Bourne can get his hands on in a foreign country? WTF! Why is trying to locate a Snapple outside of the States akin to accessing the holy grail? Get your act together, world. Snapples are the best, it says so right there on the label, and Americans are willing to pay top dollar for them. If they can find them!

#9 Your Pets Couldn’t Be Happier To See You

See how happy?

Your pet went nearly seven days without you Instagramming a photo of them, sitting next to you on the couch, watching “You’ve Got Mail”, on a Saturday night. Well thank God that nightmare is over! Now you’re home and it’s business as usual. Avoid feeling like a horrible person for leaving them alone for an entire week by slathering them with an inordinate amount of attention. With any luck they will repay you for this by gouging out one of your eyes.

#10 The Gym

Everyone, at some point during their vacation, in an effort to convince themselves that they won’t be a fat-ass for the rest of their lives after all of the food they’ve eaten, says “I can’t wait to get back to the gym!”. You’re home now. Here’s your chance. Go get em’ tiger.

Have a safe trip home!! Zip Lining is SOOOO much fun Were there dirty birds in PR? I know a few Puerto Rican’s and they’re dirty birds. Enjoy being back home with your cat, on your couch, eating weird stuff 😛 Happy Friday Kelly! -Iva

http://www.therheeldaze.com/ RheelDaze

My cat has laryngitis from screaming at me for 24 hours straight since I’ve been back. So happy to be home again!

http://eatwellpartyhard.com/ Claire Suellentrop

#5 and #7 TO THE MAAAAAAAAX.

Hope you don’t spend *too* much time being sober upon your return 😉 Stay cool in PR, then stay warm in NY!

http://www.therheeldaze.com/ RheelDaze

Luckily when we got back it was like 46 degrees or something. Eased the transition slightly. Time to eat right again though! I’ll be coming your way for inspiration!

http://hemborgwife.wordpress.com/ Bailie @ The Hemborg Wife

The thing is though if you do find the much coveted Snapple or in my case Arizona Iced Tea away from the US it is always the flavor you hate and it makes you sad all over.

http://www.therheeldaze.com/ RheelDaze

Oh no! What a tease! I couldn’t find one to save my life in Germany and they were sparse in PR. I kept mixing the diet kiwi strawberry flavors with Malibu rum. I only gained about eight pounds though, so no biggie.

JanaStopMe

Good luck on that gym thing. I spent a month in Europe this fall and gained 8 pounds — but that was OK, because once I got home, I was going to go back to the gym. I’m now up 20 pounds (damn you, Thanksgiving and Christmas!). Then I didn’t want to go to the gym because all of those “New Years Resoluters” were crowding the place. I’m quickly running out of excuses!

http://www.therheeldaze.com/ RheelDaze

You don’t even know, this trip to PR kind of caused me to have an epiphany about my fluctuating eating habits and I’m about to embark on something rather extreme which I’m posting about tomorrow. But seriously, I was in the gym five days a week for six weeks leading up to this stupid trip and then three days of pina coladas and I’m screwed. And wow! A whole month in Europe?? Where did you go?

JanaStopMe

Everywhere! It was kind of a one time trip of a lifetime — we started in Paris, drove to southern France, then took a train through the mountains to Barcelona. Then we hopped on a cruise ship and did a stop in the French Riviera, three stops in Italy, Turkey, Athens, and Santorini. It was beautiful, the food was delicious, and the people were wonderful. I wish I had the means to quit my job and just settle down in some little village over there.

http://www.therheeldaze.com/ RheelDaze

Sounds amazing. At least you were able to get a month off. That’s fantastic. I’m always compelled to pick up and move and ultimately I’m too attached to the things I have here, but one day, I could totally see it. Need to make my millions first. When is that going to happen by the way?

Nina

The whole “can’t wait to hit the gym thing” (said whilst the cocktail straw is still literally hanging out your mouth) has got to be some kind of affirmative thinking thing – y’know, that if you say something enough times it becomes a reality? I’m totally guilty of that one though. Hope Puerto Rico was fun. Greetings from grey and cold Germany *brrrrr*

http://www.therheeldaze.com/ RheelDaze

I’ve been home for two days and all I’ve done is catch up on the TV that I missed. This morning I was thrilled to see a blizzard outside me window because that will surely mean my kickboxing class is cancelled. You have to ease back into these things, you know?